The journey
1783 Words
Chapter 6: The Journey
Lushan read the letter again.
Then again.
She was hoping that somehow the words would change.
They didn't.
Do not trust your father.
Five words.
Five words that had managed to turn her entire world upside down.
She slowly lowered the paper.
“My father…”
Her voice cracked.
Raphael stood a few steps away, watching her carefully.
“What did he do?”
Raphael didn't answer immediately.
“You said you wanted the truth,” he finally said. “This is only the beginning of it.”
Lushan looked at him.
“Then tell me.”
“I can't tell you everything tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because we're not safe here.”
She frowned.
“You said this place was abandoned.”
“It is.”
“Then why aren't we safe?”
Raphael looked toward the dark road.
“Because your father knows we're somewhere in this area.”
Lushan's heart sank.
“So where are we going?”
“The village.”
She stared at him.
“What village?”
“My father's village.”
“You expect me to go with you?”
“I expect you to come if you want to stay alive.”
Lushan gave a bitter laugh.
“That's a terrible way to convince someone.”
“I wasn't trying to convince you.”
He walked toward the small vehicle parked behind the building.
Lushan remained where she was.
She looked down at the letter in her hands.
Her father had always told her that Raphael was dangerous.
That he was dead.
That she should never ask questions about him.
But Raphael was standing right in front of her.
Alive.
And somehow, his dead father's final message had been written specifically for her.
Nothing made sense anymore.
She folded the letter carefully and placed it inside her pocket.
Then she followed Raphael.
---
The road was almost completely empty.
Lushan sat quietly in the passenger seat, staring through the window.
For the first twenty minutes, neither of them spoke.
The city lights slowly disappeared behind them.
Buildings became fewer.
The roads became narrower.
Soon, there were only trees, darkness and the occasional light from a distant house.
Lushan looked at Raphael.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“My father's village.”
“You've been there before?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
She looked out the window again.
“What happened to your father?”
Raphael's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“He was killed.”
Lushan turned sharply.
“Killed?”
“Yes.”
“By who?”
Raphael was silent.
She waited.
Finally, he said,
“Your father knows.”
Her chest tightened.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it's the truth.”
“But why would my father kill someone?”
“I didn't say he killed him.”
Lushan stared at him.
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying your father knows who did.”
She leaned back against the seat.
The silence returned.
After a few minutes, Lushan whispered,
“Was my father really your father's friend?”
Raphael nodded.
“Once.”
“What happened?”
“My father trusted him with everything.”
“And my father betrayed him?”
“Yes.”
“Over the document?”
“Partly.”
Lushan turned toward him.
“What else?”
Raphael looked at her briefly.
“You ask too many questions.”
“You kidn*pped me. I think I've earned the right to ask questions.”
For the first time, Raphael smiled.
It was small, but real.
“You haven't changed.”
Lushan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“No. You said I haven't changed.”
Raphael looked back at the road.
“I've known you longer than you think.”
Lushan's stomach tightened.
“What?”
He didn't answer.
“Raphael.”
Still nothing.
“Raphael!”
He sighed.
“Your father used to bring you to my father's house when you were a child.”
Lushan froze.
“I did what?”
“You were very young.”
She shook her head.
“I don't remember.”
“You wouldn't.”
“Why didn't you ever tell me?”
“Because you weren't supposed to remember.”
Lushan stared at him.
“What happened there?”
“You used to play with my sister.”
“You have a sister?”
Raphael's expression changed.
“I did.”
Lushan immediately noticed.
“Did?”
He remained silent.
She didn't ask again.
Not because she wasn't curious.
Because she could see the pain in his face.
For the first time, she wondered how much pain Raphael had been carrying all these years.
---
Several hours passed.
Lushan eventually fell asleep.
She didn't know how long she had been sleeping when the car slowed down.
She opened her eyes.
The sky was beginning to brighten.
“What time is it?”
“Almost morning.”
She sat up.
They were driving along a dusty road surrounded by tall trees.
There were no tall buildings.
No traffic.
No security guards.
No giant houses surrounded by walls.
Just nature.
Lushan looked around in surprise.
“Are we there?”
“Almost.”
She watched as a few houses appeared in the distance.
Some were made of bricks.
Others had wooden doors and rusted roofs.
Children ran along the road.
Women carried baskets on their heads.
An old man sat beneath a tree, watching the car pass.
Lushan stared.
She had never seen anything like it.
“This is where you grew up?”
Raphael nodded.
“Partly.”
“It’s so…”
She searched for the right word.
“Quiet?”
“Yes.”
“Different.”
He smiled.
“You've never been here.”
“No.”
“You might hate it.”
Lushan looked at him.
“Maybe.”
Then she looked out the window again.
“Maybe not.”
Raphael glanced at her.
Something about her expression had changed.
For the first time since the k********g, she wasn't looking frightened.
She was curious.
---
The car stopped in front of an old compound.
Lushan looked at the house.
It wasn't what she expected.
The building was simple.
Nothing like her father's enormous mansion.
There was no electric gate.
No security guard.
No cameras.
Just a wooden fence and a small garden filled with flowers.
Raphael switched off the engine.
“We're here.”
Lushan slowly stepped out of the car.
Her feet touched the dusty ground.
She looked around.
A woman in her late fifties came out of the house.
The moment she saw Raphael, her eyes filled with tears.
“Raphael.”
He walked toward her.
“I'm back.”
She pulled him into a tight embrace.
Lushan stood quietly.
The woman eventually noticed her.
Her expression changed.
She looked at Lushan.
Then at Raphael.
“Is this…”
Raphael nodded.
“Yes.”
The woman walked closer.
“Lushan?”
Lushan's eyes widened.
“You know me?”
The woman smiled sadly.
“I knew you when you were little.”
Lushan looked at Raphael.
“You didn't tell me about her.”
“I didn't have time.”
The woman shook her head.
“You haven't changed.”
She turned to Lushan.
“Come inside, child.”
Lushan hesitated.
She didn't know this woman.
She didn't know this village.
She didn't know what was waiting for her inside that house.
But something about the woman's voice felt warm.
Safe.
Lushan followed her.
---
Inside, the house was modest but comfortable.
There was a small living room with wooden chairs, a table and several old photographs hanging on the walls.
Lushan walked slowly around the room.
Then she stopped.
One photograph caught her attention.
It showed Raphael as a child.
Beside him stood a young girl.
And behind them—
her father.
Lushan's heart skipped.
She stepped closer.
“That's my father.”
The woman nodded.
“Yes.”
“When was this taken?”
“Many years ago.”
“Why was he here?”
The woman looked at Raphael.
He remained silent.
“He used to be close to this family,” she said.
Lushan touched the edge of the photograph.
“Then what happened?”
The woman's face became serious.
“Some things are better discovered slowly.”
Lushan sighed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Raphael almost smiled.
The woman looked at him.
“She has your father's stubbornness.”
Raphael raised an eyebrow.
“She doesn't.”
“She does.”
Lushan smiled despite herself.
It was the first genuine smile she had given since she was kidn*pped.
Raphael noticed.
He didn't say anything.
---
Later that morning, Lushan stood outside the house.
She watched children playing nearby.
No one was watching her.
No guards.
No cameras.
No one telling her where she could or couldn't go.
She took a slow breath.
The air smelled different.
Fresh.
Free.
She closed her eyes.
For the first time in years, she felt like she could breathe.
Raphael came to stand beside her.
“You're quiet.”
“I'm thinking.”
“About?”
She looked around.
“This place.”
“You don't like it?”
“I didn't say that.”
He smiled.
“You're going to miss your mansion.”
Lushan laughed softly.
“Maybe I won't.”
He looked at her.
She turned toward him.
“Raphael?”
“Yes?”
“If my father really did something terrible…”
She paused.
“Will you hurt me because of him?”
Raphael's expression changed.
“No.”
“Promise?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“I promise.”
Lushan nodded.
For some reason, she believed him.
But neither of them noticed the man standing several houses away.
He was watching them.
He slowly pulled out his phone.
“She's here.”
He listened.
“Yes. Raphael brought her to the village.”
A pause.
His eyes remained fixed on Lushan.
Then he smiled.
“Should I tell her father?”
The voice on the other end answered.
“No.”
The man's smile widened.
“Then what?”
“Let them stay.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the longer she stays with Raphael, the easier it will be to find what we're looking for.”
The call ended.
The man slipped the phone into his pocket.
And walked away.
Lushan had finally found a place where she felt free.
She just didn't know yet that someone had followed her there.
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